Nash said: “It was quite an emotional day. We had the ceremony for Hobbsy (Matt Hobden) before play and spoke to his family in the dressing room and he was never far from our thoughts all day. We want to do well for him in this game and throughout the season.

“It’s always nice to get runs in the first game. I got off to a flier with a few boundaries and built from there. Essex bowled well after lunch to be fair but I’m pleased the hard work I did in the winter with Gary Kirsten has already paid off.

“I worked on making myself taller in the crease and moving around less and hopefully this is the start of a big summer for me.

As a team we’re disappointed because at 188 for 0 we were in a really strong position. But there is something in the wicket for the bowlers.

“We beat Worcestershire on this pitch last season and our guys know where to bowl on it.”

Essex coach Chris Silverwood said: “Credit to Sussex, Nash and Ed Joyce batted really well before lunch so I was pleased with the way we fought back in the afternoon.

“Ryan ten Doeschate rotated the bowling really well and picked up those two wickets as well – perhaps he should bowl himself a bit more!

“And a word for Graham Napier, as well as his three wickets he kept the run rate down. A couple of the guys who haven’t played here before found the slope difficult but all in all I thought we bowled pretty well after lunch.”

Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.

Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on.